Just a little chat in Baton Rouge
Published on: 04/22/08
When payday lenders waged their unsuccessful battle to return to Georgia last year, they argued that their industry helps people. Apparently, by "people" they meant legislators.
Among the House members voting for the industry was Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain). Three months later, Mitchell became vice president of government relations for Community Loans of America Inc., one of the largest car title and payday lending companies in the nation.
As part of that job, Mitchell is now paying house calls on the Louisiana Legislature on behalf of the payday industry.
As sponsor of a bill capping interest rates on payday loans, Louisiana Rep. Rickey Hardy (D-Lafayette) says Mitchell approached him last week and told him that his bill "would hurt the little man." Although Mitchell admits to chatting with Hardy, the Georgia legislator says he "did not try to influence him."
Really? Mitchell travels to Baton Rouge, finds Hardy and tells him the bill is bad. To most folks, that's lobbying.
And while it may be legal for Georgia elected officials to lobby other state legislatures on behalf of their employers, it's also unseemly and embarrassing. Mitchell's Stone Mountain constituents have cause to wonder whether he's the person they want voting on consumer issues on their behalf.
Georgia's ethics laws are full of loopholes, and the payday industry seems particularly adept at exploiting them. Three weeks before the pivotal payday vote last year, payday lobbyist Willie Green loaned $80,000 to former state Democratic Rep. Ron Sailor. Sailor — now facing 20 years for money laundering after being snagged in a federal sting — voted in the industry's favor. Only Green's failure to report the loan violated ethics laws; the loan itself did not.
— Maureen Downey, for the editorial board (mdowney@ajc.com)
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